“The U.S. Department of State Foreign Affairs Manual was first published in 1973.”
I did not know the Foreign Affairs Manual did not exist in 1968. You are correct and I am wrong.
It also means the issuance of CLNs was open to interpretation as to who is eligible and who is not eligible. No CLN is issued without the written consent of the Secretary of State. The Secretary of State is guided by the foreign policy pronouncements of POTUS at that time.
So, instead of looking at the post-1973 FAM, or it’s predecessor policy and procedures manual (if any), we should be asking ourselves would the President of the United States in 1968 put forth a policy to allow a 7-year-old living with an Indonesian father and American mother in Indonesia to renounce his U.S. Citizenship.
What would LBJ do? I’m pretty sure he told SoS Rusk to issue the kid his CLN with the caveat he could move back to the U.S. and recapture his U.S. Citizenship with a written request and an oath of allegiance anytime up to 6 months past his 18th birthday.
I’m thinking about writting an article about this on my blog http://svenmagnussen.blogspot.com .
Correction: from 1910 to 1973, foreign affairs policy and procedures manual was called the Central Policy File and referred to as the Decimal File.